Glimpses of the Future
by Wackysocks
Summary: In Potions class, Lily is chosen to take a new potion that gives the drinker a glimpse of four of their possible futures. What does she see? A 2part LJ fanfic. Rated for minor fluff
1. Chapter 1

_Glimpses of the Future_

**Chapter 1**

Lily Evans slid into a chair in the Potions dungeon one cold Friday morning in November. _I can't believe how much stuff I have to do today_, she thought. _That Transfiguration essay, Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, the Herbology drawing, helping Elias Beezely with Muggle Studies, a Head's meeting with James . . . _Lily yawned. She hadn't been getting much sleep since she had been so busy.

"Okay, class," said Professor Slughorn, "Thanks to Mr. Black's excellent question on time-traveling with Potions yesterday," – Sirius smirked – "I have done a little extra research and have found a potion that, in a way, can make you travel through time."

Lily listened attentively and began taking notes. Professor Slughorn gestured to a small black cauldron sitting on his desk.

"Its name is _Video Futurum_. Drinking it will give the drinker a glimpse into four of their possible future lives. Quite an eye-opener for some people, I've read." The class laughed. Alice Denim, one of Lily's best friends, raised her hand.

"Please sir, how exactly does it work? I mean, what does it do to you?"

"Good question, Miss Denim, good question. Eight ounces of _Video Futurum_ will put the drinker to sleep for fifteen minutes. When they wake up, they will remember all of the experiences that they had. Unfortunately, what the potion is like while experiencing it is largely unknown because of the drinker's unwillingness to talk about their experience."

A Ravenclaw boy raised his hand. "Are there any risks?"

"As a matter of fact there are, Mr. Patil. If the potion is not correctly made, and it is very finicky, the drinker could be trapped and never wake. They could also go insane. The drinker also must be perfectly healthy as the potion does extract some sort of toll on the body. I am proud to say that I have managed to make a perfectly correct batch."

Professor Slughorn had a proud look on his face as he looked around at the 7th year Potions class. "Now that I have so explicitly explained everything, may I have two volunteers?" The class burst into exited murmurs. Lily herself was exited She had taken a page of notes and now they would be able to see the effects? A commotion on the other side of the room distracted her.

"Come on, Prongs, do it!" urged Sirius.

A couple Ravenclaw boys were also egging James on. James only shook his head. This only caused several more boys to join in until they were practically shouting.

Finally, Professor Slughorn said, "Mr. Potter?"

"Come on James!"

"Yeah, do it!"

Finally, James got up out of his seat wearing a resigned expression on his face.

"Now how about a young lady?" asked Professor Slughorn, looking at the girls.

Martin Patil spoke up. "I think Lily should do it so both Heads would be doing it together."

Lily was just about to violently refuse when all the girls began doing to her just what the boys had been doing to James.

"Come on, Lily!"

"Yeah, Lily, both Heads!"

"Do it, Lily," whispered Alice, "Haven't you always wanted to experience something like this?"

"Miss Evans?" asked Professor Slughorn.

Lily looked at James. There was a half smile on his face and a sort of do-you-dare look in his eyes.

"Alright, fine," Lily grumbled, getting up.

All the girls cheered as Lily walked to Professor Slughorn's desk to stand next to James.

"Marvelous, marvelous!" said Professor Slughorn excitedly. With a flick of hiswand, he conjured two small cots, and another flick made two goblets appear next to the cauldron on his desk. Lily sat down on one of the cots, and saw James do the same. Professor Slughorn measured eight ounces of the potion into each goblet and handed one to each of them. Lily looked at the contents of her goblet somewhat nervously. "What's it look like, Lily?" someone asked. "It's like water withthick white fog in it," she replied. She looked up to see several people writing busily and almost laughed out loud. They were taking notes! On _her_! She heard a _clack_ and saw Professor Slughorn put James' empty goblet on his desk.

"What's it taste like, Prongs?" asked Sirius eagerly. James' face was expressionless.

"Like water, Padfoot."

Lily heard a few titters from her classmates.

"Lie down now, Mr. Potter; you'll fall asleep in a couple minutes. Drink up, Miss Evans," said Professor Slughorn briskly.

Lily took a breath and downed the contents of the goblet as fast as she could. It did taste just like water. Had she not seen it, she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. She handed the goblet back to Professor Slughorn and lay down on the cot.

"Class, please take notes. You may come up and observe the potion if you wish. A one-foot essay will be due on Tuesday." The class groaned.

Lily began to feel tired.

"James is asleep," announced Professor Slughorn after a moment.

Lily felt sleepy. Very sleepy. If only she closed her eyes for one second . . .

She was sitting at a kitchen table in a little apartment. It was nighttime. She was by herself. There was a half-finished plate of rice in front of her and a glass of milk. She began to eat, and then realized something.

She was _alone_.

She didn't know why that was so significant, so she kept eating. After another bite, she had another thought.

She had no one there for her.

Why that was important, she didn't know, but she didn't eat any more. She sat there quietly, thinking. Her job as the receptionist at St. Mungo's paid well, but unless she got a raise, she wouldn't be able to keep up with the payments for this place. Then it came.

If only she had made a different choice five years ago, she wouldn't be here. She would be with someone.

_Who? _Thought Lily.

It didn't matter who. She was alone. She was all by herself. No one was there for her. He had moved on. She was forgotten. There would never be somebody to hold. Lily felt tears falling down her face. Words came out of her mouth.

"If only, if only," she whispered, then put her head down in her hands and sobbed. She was _so_ _alone_ . . .

The room faded.

She was again sitting at a table in a small house. The TV was on at some news channel, and she was wearily trying to write something. It was some report on what magic things Muggles had run into in the past week. A little boy came running up to her.

"Mommy, I'm hungry. I want pizza, Mommy, pizza."

"Not tonight," she heard herself say. _He has Amos' face_, she thought.

"Then what, Mommy, I'm _hungry!_" he whined.

"Leftovers, Matthew. Then I'm taking you to Daddy's house." _I'll have to see Amos again_, thought Lily, not looking forward to it. Wait, why? She looked at the mantle. A framed picture of a bride and groom sat there. It was . . . herself with Amos Diggory. All of a sudden she knew what had happened.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!"

Lily automatically walked to the refrigerator and started putting some leftover chicken on a plate. She looked at the picture. She and Amos . . . were divorced. They had gotten married right out of school, and a year later he had left her, pregnant and with almost no money.

She was lonely. Only she had to be strong. Strong for her little Matthew, who was jumping around the table chanting, "Hun-gry! Hun-gry!"

Why oh why couldn't she have been happy? Why couldn't she have chosen someone else? Why didn't she think about her choice like a sensible girl?

"Hun-gry! Hun-gry! Hun-gry!"

The room faded.

Lily was standing on the deck of a second-story hotel room. She sipped at the drink in her hand, a lemon-lime soda. Despite being in her favorite place with her favorite foods, she wasn't happy. And yet, shouldn't she be? What was today?

_How could I forget today?_ a stray thought came. _It's the day Remus died_.

Yes, Remus. Lily remembered now. They had gotten married after completing Auror training. It had been odd, marrying a werewolf.

_A werewolf? What? Remus?_ she thought in shock. She paused a second. _Of course, he was, _she thought again. _Silly me_. _How could I have forgotten?_

She sipped at her soda. Anyways. Marrying a werewolf. After about a month of her marriage, they both sensed that it was wrong. They were always tense. They seemed to be mad at each other more than they were happy. After a year of arguments and constant bickering, he had died – killed in a fight against another werewolf at one full moon. She felt sad and somewhat . . . relieved. Glad that he had died.

_Relieved? How could I feel relieved if Remus died_? she thought.

_I felt relieved because I was free, _she remembered. _It was a wrong choice. _

A wrong choice.

The wrong choice.

Not the right choice, the wrong choice.

The room faded.

She was sitting on a couch, knitting. Knitting what? She held up the pink wool creation. It looked like half of a baby's sweater. It was so soft. She rubbed it against her cheek for a moment, then put it down and got up to get a drink of water. Going to the kitchen, she passed by a mirror and looked into it.

_Oh my gosh I am old!_ Lily thought, taken aback. Her fiery red hair had gray everywhere in it. Her face was lined and wrinkled. She certainly wasn't as thin as she had been at Hogwarts.

_Wait a minute, of course I'm old! I just had my sixtieth birthday last week_!

She dismissed her stray thought. Of course she was old. How silly of her.

Entering the kitchen, she saw a little girl on the floor playing with magnets on the refrigerator. The girl smiled at her.

"Gramma, look what I made!"

It was a smiley face.

"That's wonderful, Jennie, make another one!" she heard herself say.

Suddenly the doorbell rang.

"Oh no, it's Mommy!" gasped Jennie, running out of the kitchen.

Lily smiled, shaking her head. Jennie had recently begun doing this whenever her mother came to pick her up. She walked over to the door and opened it. A red-haired, hazel-eyed young woman stood before her, smiling.

"Well hell, Rosie, come in," she heard herself say. The young woman stepped in and hugged her.

_Oh my gosh,_ Lily realized, stunned. _She is the spitting image of me. Except those eyes, they aren't mine. . . _

"Where is Jennie?" asked Rose.

"Hiding again," Lily replied.

Rose shook her head, smiling. "This new game of hers. Jennie! It's time to go home! Jennie!" She walked off into the house calling her daughter. All of a sudden, Lily had a revelation.

_Those are James Potter's eyes. _

She looked down at her left hand. Sure enough, there was a diamond ring and a gold ring on her fourth finger. There was an emerald on both sides of the diamond.

_I am married to James Potter? Wait, how did he know I wanted emeralds on my engagement ring?_ Lily wondered. She thought for a second, then shook her head. _Silly me. James knows because I told him I love emeralds. My goodness, I am getting old!_

Rose re-entered the room carrying Jennie. "Don't forget the family reunion this Friday, okay Mom? Harry's even going to be there – he's back from the States."

"Yes of course, dear. I called him, remember?"

Rose smiled. "Alright, then. Good-bye, Mom."

Lily kissed and hugged her daughter and granddaughter, then closed the door behind them. She returned to the couch, but put away her knitting.

_For Harry's baby daughter in three months_, she thought fondly. _Won't Ginny be surprised! I can't believe they're having their second child already._

Lily leaned back against the pillows, suddenly tired. She was just sitting there thinking when she heard a small _pop!_ outside the door. She smiled. The door opened and closed, and she heard her husband putting down his briefcase.

"Hello," he called out.

There was a small silence, then she heard him walk over to the couch. She looked up into James Potter's face. He was old, too. His once-black hair was now frosted with gray. He had gained weight, too, and their wrinkles on his face and hands; deep laugh lines that hadn't been there when he was seventeen.

"Hello, my love," he said, leaning down and kissing her.

Inside, Lily was astonished, but outside, shed smiled and said, "Hello, dear. How was work?"

"Tiring," he replied, sitting next to her. She asked him about Alice, and he replied that she was doing much better. Frank was due home from St. Mungo's any day now. Then they sat in comfortable silence for several moments. James' eyes drooped, and in seconds, he was asleep.

_How on earth does he go to sleep so fast?_ thought Lily wonderingly. She got up to go make dinner, but before entering the kitchen, she dropped a kiss on his forehead.

"I love you," she whispered.

The room faded.

Lily opened her eyes. She was lying on a cot in the Potions classroom looking up at Professor Slughorn.

"Miss Evans is awake!" he announced.

The class cheered as Lily sat up, looking everywhere but at James. When the cheers died down, Professor Slughorn addressed both of them. "Would either of you care to share your experiences?"

There was a pause. Then,

"No," she heard James say. The professor looked at her. She could only shake her head no.

The class booed, but Professor Slughorn immediately spoke.

"Quite alright, quite alright, didn't I tell you this would probably happen? Thank you, Mr. Potter and Miss Evans, you may return to your seats." Lily slid into her seat in shock. Her mind was in a turmoil. Professor Slughorn began lecturing on some of the ingredients in _Video Futurum_, but Lily couldn't take notes.

"Lily?" whispered Alice. Lily looked at her friend. Her eyes were wide. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I think I have, Alice," replied Lily, looking back at her desk. Suddenly she remembered. James had done this too. She looked over at him. He was looking straight at her, an intense gaze in his hazel eyes. _Rosie's eyes . . . _

Lily jerked her head back to her desk and stared at it for the rest of class.

When she arrived back at the Gryffindor common room, Lily still could hardly focus. She managed to finish her Defense Against the Dark Arts homework, but then sent a note to Elias Beezely expressing her apologies and went to bed. She stared out the window for an hour while everyone else was at dinner, and then, exhausted from her day, fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer- **forgot to add this last time! I do not own the Harry Potter series or any of the characters; all are properties of J.K. Rowlings.

**Chapter 2**

The first thing Lily did upon going down to breakfast the next morning was break up with Amos. He was hurt and confused, but Lily didn't care. It was all she could do to stay calm talking to him when she washearing choruses of "Hun-gry! Hun-gry! Hun-gry!" repeating in her head. Thankfully, she had calmed down enough to take notes in all her classes and struggle through her Transfiguration essay. But by the end of the day, her head was whirling again, so she put on her hat and coat, grabbed two rolls from the dinner table, and went outside, leaving Alice to eat with someone else for the second night in a row.

The snow crunched under her boots as she walked. It was a dusky twilight, and the snow glistened a clear white, but didn't hurt her eyes like it did in broad daylight. She sat down on a bench next to the lake and tossed the last bits of her roll to the giant squid. She took a deep breath, trying to sort out her thoughts. The air was cold and crisp – a perfect night.

"Lily?" a masculine voice asked hesitantly. Lily knew who it was even before she looked.

James Potter.

She knew he wouldn't go away until she talked to him, so she wearily turned around and patted the spot next to her, saying, "Come and sit down, James."

Silently, he sat down, and the silence stretched on while they just sat there staring out at the lake.

_Just like on the couch at home . . . _

Lily firmly pushed the thought from her mind. James was not her husband, and that house was _not_ her home. Besides, she disliked him, didn't she? She thought for a moment. She certainly had hated him in years past. He had been terribly arrogant, a big show-off, and an insufferable jerk. Now he was . . . different. He wasn't arrogant, he was just proud. _And everybody is proud_, Lily thought. _I even get proud over my accomplishments!_ As for being a show-off; that seemed to be ingrained in every other boy Lily knew. She had only ever picked on him for it, though. And he wasn't a jerk anymore. He had changed. He was – more mature. He had certainly been a very responsible Head Boy so far.

James chose this moment to break the silence.

"Will you talk to me about what happened when you dreamed yesterday?"

Lily didn't answer.

After several moments, James spoke again. "Please, Lily. I know it'll be hard, and I'm not exactly your favorite person, but I have a feeling that talking about it will make both of us feel better. Is your head whirling like mine is?"

Lily looked at him, then nodded. "Yes, it is," she said reluctantly.

"Then will you talk to me?"

Lily let the question hang for a moment before nodding.

James let out a breath. "To make it easier, I think we should alternate scenes. All at once would be a little overwhelming."

Lily exhaled. "You go first," she said.

James nodded. After a few moments, he spoke. "I was Minister of Magic."

Lily raised her eyebrows.

James saw it and grimaced. "I had thrown myself wholeheartedly into my job. My life was work. I hardly saw my family anymore, and when I got home at night, there was no one there. I existed only to make money and work, like some sort of machine. Someone with no feelings and no heart." He shuddered. "That was dreadful." He looked at her.

Lily took a deep breath. "I was alone. Living by myself. There was . . . no one. No one there for me. I was supporting myself, living, but it was more just _existing_. I had this terrible feeling of being all alone, with no one anywhere near me."

James whistled softly. He waited a second before starting again. "In the next scene, I was playing Quidditch. I was playing for England as their star Chaser. Everybody . . . every body loved me. The cameras, the fans . . . someone was even wearing a James Potter t-shirt."

Lily almost laughed, but then saw the expression on James' face.

"When I finally got time to myself after all the interviews and autographs, I had the feeling you did in your first scene – that sense of aloneness. I was the biggest celebrity there was, and I had nobody." He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, slid down the bench into a slouching position, and looked at her.

"In my second scene I was, I had been married to Amos Diggory." Lily glanced at James just in time to see the corners of his mouth tighten. "We . . . had gotten a divorce. I . . . I had . . . I was a single mother, with a three-year-old son." She swallowed. Whatever James had said about feeling better, it was hard to get the words out. "I was struggling to support both of us, and I just remember regretting. Regretting my choice to marry him, because I had to pay for it." She closed her eyes, trying not to cry.

She looked up at him to see him looking at her.

"So that's why you broke up with him this morning," he said.

She stared. "You heard about that?"

He gave her a patient look. "Lily, I was sitting two people down from you when you did it."

"Oh," was all she could say.

He looked back out at the lake. "In my third scene, I had married Alice Denim."

Lily stared again. "Alice Denim? My best friend?"

"The very one. We had been married five years. I had a good job, we had two children. Two boys. Nate and Edward."

He closed his eyes. "It wasn't a happy marriage. We were always fighting. She was always crying. I was always leaving home to get away. Our boys fought constantly and wouldn't listen to her, so I had to discipline them. That made her cry and me feel upset. It was . . . it was just _awful_." He looked at her. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to talk to her again. She wouldn't even wear her wedding ring."

Lily could only manage a watery smile. She had tears in her eyes, despite herself. She struggled to get a grip on herself so she could speak.

"In my – sniff, deep breath – third scene, I . . ." Lily couldn't speak. She pressed her hands against her eyes. _Don't cry, don't cry_, she thought desperately. _I have to do this_. She put her head up again. "I had been married to Remus."

This time it was James' turn to be shocked. "Remus Lupin? He married you? I thought," he abruptly closed his mouth.

Lily knew why. "It's okay, James, I know. He's a werewolf. I frankly am surprised I didn't see it sooner. Anyways . . . we hadn't been happy either. We had been fighting more than we had been happy. Then . . . he died fighting another werewolf at full moon. I-I was relieved, James. I w-was g-glad that I was f-free." She struggled to get a hold of herself, and barely managed to. She tentatively looked at him.

He was staring at her.

Lily felt terrible. "I'm sorry, James! We had b-been f-fighting so much and I-"

"It's fine," he interrupted. He looked at the giant squid, pulled a breadstick from his pocket, and tore it into pieces. They both stood up and walked to the water's edge. James threw his pieces into the water, and they both watched the squid snatch them one-by-one from the surface of the water.

All of a sudden Lily realized that she had one more scene to tell him . . . and he was in it. She wanted nothing more to run all the way to Gryffindor Tower and hide under the blankets on her bed. But James didn't give her a chance.

"My fourth scene was a happy one," he said, looking at her again. She couldn't tear her gaze away. "It had you in it," he said simply.

At this she felt herself blush, and she looked down.

"We were married," he continued softly. "We . . . we were so happy, Lily. We had four children; Harry, Rose,"

"You had Rose in yours, too?" gasped Lily. Too late did she realize what she said, and she looked down, blushing again.

He raised his eyebrows. "Your fourth scene was about me," he said. Just a statement, yet it carried so much weight.

"Who were the other two?" asked Lily, trying to change the subject.

After a pause, he spoke. "Lorena and Luke. I was Head of the Auror Department, and you were a Healer at St. Mungo's. Harry was 7, Rosie was 5, Lorena was 4 and Luke was 2."

Lily finally brought herself to look at him. He was just looking at her, but it was his eyes-

_Rosie's eyes. And he called her Rosie!_

Lily spoke. "I was old. I was babysitting this little girl named Jennie. She . . . she was my granddaughter. Rosie, her mother, came to pick her up." Lily looked at him. "Rosie had your eyes, James."

He just looked at her. Was that a tear in his eye? "I know," he said. "Other than that she looked just like you." Lily wanted to cry, and then she wanted to laugh. They were talking about an imaginary child that the two of them had, their _second_ imaginary child! The absurdity of it all! "We . . . were talking about a family reunion. Harry's wife was going to have her second child – she was some girl named Ginny."

"Ginny?" exclaimed James incredulously. "He married Ginny? She was at our house playing with Rosie and Lorena when I got home." Suddenly he realized what he was saying and looked away from her. Lily smiled tearfully at him. Suddenly she wanted to tell him the rest.

"Then you came home, James."

He quickly looked back at her.

"You were old, too," said Lily.

"Well I would think so," he said with a smile.

"You had gray hair, several wrinkles, and nowhere near the studsy body you have now."

At this James laughed, and a mischievous twinkle came into his eyes.

"Think I'm studsy, do you Evans?"

Lily blushed and looked down. What had possessed her to say _that_?

James chuckled, then was all seriousness again. "What did I do?"

Suddenly Lily didn't want to tell him. Once more she wanted to run to the Gryffindor Tower and hide. "You . . . you . . . you just . . ."

"Lily," James broke in, "In the dream, did I love you?"

All of Lily's self-control broke down. She put her head in her hands and sobbed. She felt James' arms go around her, holding her close, and she didn't even care. Once she stopped, she heard him say, "You didn't answer me."

Lily closed her eyes. "Yes, James. You loved me. You said it yourself."

"And you?" he whispered.

Lily wanted to sink right into the ground.

"I . . ."

"Never mind, Lily, we've said enough," he said, suddenly brisk. "Don't you feel better, though, now that you've talked about it?"

Lily thought about it. "Yes," she said slowly. It was true. Her mind had stopped feeling like a whirlpool, and she felt wonderfully calm.

James kept one arm around her and began walking her back to the castle.

"I certainly understand now why people are very loath to talk about their experiences," said Lily, trying to break the silence.

"Mmhm."

_So much for that_, she thought.

They were almost at the castle doors when James stopped. He put both his hands on Lily's upper arms and looked into her eyes. "Will you go out with me?" he asked. Lily let out a short laugh. "Yes," she said. He hugged her again, and for several moments she just stood there in his arms.

"Lily?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him.

"Did I kiss you in your dream?"

Lily closed her eyes and looked down. If she had blushed before, now her face was on fire. James dropped one of his arms and began walking her into the castle again. She chanced a glance up at him and saw that he was smiling broadly. _Very_ broadly.

Right before they reached the Fat Lady's corridor, James stopped her. "You go in first," he said. "We'll tell everyone tomorrow."

Lily just looked up at him, then asked softly, "Why didn't you kiss me outside?"

He raised his eyebrows, shocked. "I've been asked you for _years_ to go out with me. You finally say yes. I'm not pushing whatever luck I seem to have – I'll earn it."

Lily let out a giggle and tilted her head up. "You just have, James," she said.

He hesitated, then saw she was serious and lowered his head to hers.

Later Lily couldn't have described it if her life depended on it. It was bliss – pure bliss. That was all she remembered.

"Thank you," she whispered when he finally pulled away.

The mischievous glint appeared in his eyes again, and he whispered back, "Anytime."

Lily had to clap both hands over her mouth to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Go," he said, "I'll see you in the morning." With a last glance, she went down the corridor, through the common room, and upstairs to her bed. Alice was sitting on her bed reading. She looked up when Lily entered.

"Lily! Lily? You're all flushed and . . . happy-looking. Why the sudden change of mood?"

Lily could only smile at her friend. "You'll find out in the morning," was all she could say.

thEnd

**Author's Note**- Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I am a new member to this site, and this is my first ever fanfiction story. I will most definitely post more stories when I write them - I was greatly encouraged by the success this got. You guys are great!

Wackysocks


End file.
